Process of roughening the side edges of flooring-boards and the like



W. H. WALKER. PROCESS OF BOUGHENIN G THE SIDE EBGES 0F FLOORING BOARDS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED MARPZO, 1919. v

Patented Aug. 16, 1921.

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WILLIAM H. WA KER,- or r mn BLUFF, A LEAF LUMBER. COMPANY, or KANSAS SOURI.

RKANSAS, ASSIGNOR TO ARKANSAS SHORT CITY, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF HIS- IPROCESS OF ROUGHENING THE SIDE EDGES OF FLOORING-BOARDS AND THE LIKE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VVILLIAM H. WALKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pine Bluff, in the county of Jefferson and State of Arkansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Roughening the Side Edges of F looring- Boards and the like, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a process of roughening the side edges of flooring boards, and more especially to a process of producing parallel series of shallow broken grooves extending longitudinally in such boards, as distinguished from surfaced. edged boards, or roughened surfaces produced by sawing, as I have found that the adhesive force of abinder used in securing the boards together, will by entering such longitudinal grooves, find resistance against the walls of such grooves, and thus be augmented in its capacity for securing the boards firmly against springing upward, this trouble being very common in flooring composed of boards or strips having sawed or surfaced edges, as in. such flooring the adhesive force of the binder is not appreciably augmented by the rough edges to which such binder is applied, as the ridges found in such surfaces, extend approximately perpendicular tothe surface of the flooring and not parallel therewith as in the board produced in accordance with my process.

The object of my invention. therefore is to evolve a process for economically and rapidly providing series of shallow longitudinal grooves in the side edges of flooring boards or strips; and in order that the invention may be fully understood, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing illustrating one type of mechanism for carrying the process into effect, as hereinafter described and -claimed; in which:

Figure 1, is a top plan view of one form of apparatus for performing the process forming the subject matter of this application.

Fig. 2, is a side view of the same.

Fig. 3, is a perspective view of one of the bits employed in the process.

Fig. 4, is a fragmentary perspective view of a board corrugated at its sides in accordance with the process.

Referring to the drawing in detail, 1 in- V V Specification of Letters Patent. Pajgentgd Aug; 16-, 1%21. Application filed March 20, 1919. Serial No.

dicates a table of any suitable type, provided with suitable guides, not shown, as common in this class of machinery, for compelling flooring strips held down upon the table by the rollers 2, to travel endwise undeviatingly under pressure applied by the hand of the operator or otherwise on the boards.

The table is also shown as equipped with the customary top and bottom cutting heads 3 and 4 mounted respectively upon driven shafts 5 and 6 and adapted for operation upon the upper and lower sides of the board, though as far as the invention under consideration is concerned, the particular means for planing or smoothing the upper and lower sides of the boards is immaterial.

One of the boards indicated at 7, is shown upon the table and in operative relation to the rollers 2 and the heads 3 and 4, the board as illustrated, being adapted to travel in the direction indicated by the arrow, in Fig. 1.

For producing longitudinal corrugations of the broken type, as shown by Fig. 4, two side heads are employed, each comprising a suitable drive shaft 8, a disk 9, provided with notches 10, and cutting bits 11 secured rigidly in any suitable manner in said notches, these bits having their cutting edges beveled as at 12 and the points or edges of the bits corrugated as at 13, which corrugations for convenience of construction may extend for the full length of the bits, as shown by Fig. 3, it being noted that the cutting edges of said bits project slightly beyond the peripheral plane of the disks 9, and hence are adapted to produce series of shallow longitudinal grooves in the side edges of the flooring boards which grooves may be broken as shown at 15, Fig. 4.

In practice the side heads will be driven at such a high rate of speed compared to the speed at which the board is moved endwise over the table, that the grooves produced will be broken grooves, such as shown by Fig. 4, though it is to be understood that the length of thegrooved sections and the spacing between alined groove sectlons is materially magnified in said figure to distinguish more clearly between the broken grooves and the continuous grooves.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that by the process described, it is practical to provide flooring boards with parallel series of shallow longitudinal grooves in their side edges, which boards when laid will abut together at their side edges without interlocking, it being understood however that the application of a liquid binder to the boards will result in the binder entering the grooves and thus not only hold them firmly together by its adhesive force, but also through filling the grooves, will utilize the side walls thereof as resistances against independent springing movement of either of such boards.

It is to be understood of course that these boards are adapted to be nailed in place as well as glued together, but that by gluing together boards grooved as herein described, the union between the boards is made much more firm and secure than with boards hav ing ordinary surface edges or saW roughened edges, as above pointed out.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have evolved a simple and eflicient process of providing flooring boards and the like, with series of longitudinal grooves in their side edges, which can be carried on with great rapidity and at small cost.

I claim: i

The process of producing closely-arranged longitudinally extending broken shallow parallel grooves in the side edges of a board, the same consisting in feeding the board endwise between and in engagement with toothed cutters and in rotating such cutters at such a rate of speed as shall cause them to successively engage the board at points in longitudinal alinement but slightly spaced apart.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

WILLIAM H. WALKER. 

